Machine for attaching artificial stems to blossoms



Nov. 10, 1953 c. M. ANDERSEN MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTIFICIAL STEMS TOBLOSSOMS Filed Sept. 5, 1950 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE/Y 717R JrrdeA/EKAMDERJEW,

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Nov. 10, 1953 I c. M. ANDERSEN MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTIFICIAL STEMS TOBLOSSOMS Filed Sept. 5, 1950 I 3 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.

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Patented Nov. 10, 1953 MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTIFICIAL STE-MS TOBLOSSOMS Charles M. Andersen, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Floyd R.Honn, Arcadia, Calif.

Application September 5, 1950, Serial No. 183,232

9 Claims.

My invention relates to a machine for attaching artificial stems toblossoms.

In providing certain blossoms with wires to replace their natural stems,or in addition to their stems, to aid in making up corsages or in wiringthe blossoms into floral arrangement, use is made of florists wire ofrelatively soft metal to enable the wire to be manipulated easilywithout damaging the blossoms.

When it is desired to push the wire through the relatively hard calyx ofthe blossoms an operator has to work with care to avoid bending the tipof the wire or damaging the blossom and as a result the work is sloweddown, particularly when handling flowers such as roses which have adense hard calyx.

It is an object of my invention to provide a machine which enables anoperator to push florists wire through the lower ends of flowers withease and rapidity. I

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine of the kinddescribed which is arranged so that the whole operative cycle of themachine is accomplished by a single turn of a crank which the operatormanipulates with one hand, using the other hand to position and removethe flowers or blossoms operated on by the machine.

Another object of my invention is to provide a machine of the kinddescribed which is simply arranged and constructed so that the soft wireused is accurately guided and is provided with means to preventincorrect operation of the machine which might result in snarling of thewire and stoppage of the device.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the kinddescribed which is strongly constructed so that no interruption ofwiring operations is experienced due to the necessity of replacing orrepairing parts, this feature is important since florists are usuallyrequired to work rapidly when providing large scale floral arrangementsdue to the necessity of avoiding loss of freshness of the flowers whichwither rapidly when deprived of their natural stems.

Another object'is to provide, in a machine of the above stated kind ameans for manually causing a momentary interruption of thewire feeddescription read together with the accompanying drawings whichillustrate an embodiment now in operation and at present consideredpreferable .by me.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the device showing the relation of partsat the completion of an operative cycle.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device looking at the right end ofFig.1. s

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view, parts being broken away todisclose interior construction. A released blossom is indicated indotted lines in the view. I

Fig.v 4 isa fragmentary elevational view looking at the side of thedevice oppositev to that shown in Fig. l, with part of the enclosingdoor broken away to show aportion of the inner structure in full lines.

Fig. 5 is a cross section'on line 55 of Fig. 4, drawn on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is. a fragmentary cross sectionv on line 66 of Fig. 4, drawn on alarger scale.

Fig. '7 is a detail perspective view showing in a detached manner one ofthe friction wire feeding roller per se in which a segment is cut away,and includes the mounting means for said roller. In this view the scaleis enlarged.

Fig. 8 is a detail side view, drawn on a larger scale, of the wireguiding and supporting means and associated parts securable to the frontof the device, parts being sectioned to show their interior arrangement.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 8, as indicated by thearrows 9-9 in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 8, as indicated by thearrows Ill-l0 in. Fig.

'8, extreme operating positions of the wire shearing member beingindicated in full and in lines. i

Fig. 11 is a side elevation drawn on a larger scale or a'gravityoperated detent shown in Fig. 1, part of the detent being broken awayand part sectioned to show its interior arrangement.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the crank and associated mechanismoperated thereby. In this view the structures shown is portrayed in fivedifferent positions which progressively illustrate operative stepsthereof.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary cross section on line I3-l3 of Fig. 8 whereinthe wire shearing memher is shown in inoperative position in full linesdotted and in the operative position in dotted lines.

in; of the device which provides a mounting means upon which nearly allof the mechanism of the device is directly secured. In the embodimentherein described and illustrated the frame is formed as a box open onone side and fitted with a hinged door 2| closing the open side. Hingesfor the door are indicated at Ho and a knob for opening the ,door isindi ated at 21b.

The exterior elements of the operating mechaiiism are mounted on theclosed side wall 22 of the frame and on its front end wall 23.

Within the housing the supply qty/ire to be extended is wound on a spool24 My mounted on a shaft 25 having a threaded end screwed into athreaded hole in wall 22 o! the frame. Any suitable means may-beprovided to hold the spool from wine being drawn therefrom, as forexample strips of heavy felt 26 pressed between the wire-loaded spooland the adjacent end of the frame.

I'he'wlre Ills led from the spool 2! through a guide nipple 28 mountedin an inwardly moboss 20 on the side wall 22 and is pulled forward bymilled feed rollers 30. 3| which :grip the wire between them.

. 'The roller 32 (Fig. 7) is mounted to rotate Ireely with a gear laterto he described'on a shaft 32 xtending across an opening 22;; in a:small 23, said frame being .pivotally mounted on a pin 35 carried by aboss '3 (Fig. 6), saidboss inwardly from the side wall 22. Said frame 22is :provided'in its forward end portion 'sslth'a tore to'neceivesald.pin 35. A rearward extension 31 of the frame is provided 'with a recess26 in which is located the lower end of a small mil spring 69 undercompression, the M end of the spring being located in a threaded bore 66in a boss projecting inwardly from the top of thetframe, and bearingagainst the lower end of a set screw 4| screwing into the bore 40, thefore: exerted by the spring hing controlled by the adjustment of the setscrew ll. 7

The milled roller 28 is carried concentrically w one end portion of agear 62 which meshes with an intermediate gear '46 which similarlyBarrios the roller llL-sa-id intermediate gear being mounted forrotation on a stud 44 screwed into 'antnwardly projecting boss 45 on theside wall 22.

The Knurled rollers '66 and '61 are rotated through the medium of apower transmission nimomt'edona studfl secured in a boss 68 extendinginwardly from the side wall 22, said gear 66 meshing with theaforementioned gear 46 is, in turn, rotated by :a large driuing gear Ilasecured :to a shaft I! mounted ina bore in inwardly extending bearingboss 56 of the all 22, a bearing sleeve being provided for the shaft.

An operating crank-52 is secured to a. projecting endportion-of theshaft 49 and is spa edfrom the outer face :ofthe side wall 22 to allowparts lat r desc ibed to be mounted n said out fac out of the pat of trael o the crank 5 s pro id d with an operating handle 53 s c re in the cnk by. a threaded stem 64.

Wire 21 after passin between said feed rollers a, ll is threadedthrough-a second guide nipple 5.5 mount d leaoss pro ct ng inwardly f hf ont wa of the ase. and then through a hole drilled through a hardenedsteel bushing 51 mounted in a cou nterabored portion at the forward endof the bore in which the guide nipple 55 4 bores drilled through bushing51 and guide nipples and 26 are alined on an axis which extendssubstantially centrally and longitudinally of the frame 20 of themachine. On the forward wall 23 of the frame an exterior wire guidingand supporting fitting generally indicated at 56 (Fig. 8) is secured.Said fitting 66 comprises a small homhg 5. attached to the upper part ofthe front wall of the frame by machine screws 66. A vertical slot 6| isprovided through the side wall of the housing 59 on the same side as theclosed side wall 22 of the housing 20. Housing 59 is formed with e,central forwardly projecting frusto-conical, outwardly tapered extension590. in which the ended a wire guiding tube 62 is secured by set screws63. Said extension is laterally off- M free: the center line of theframe, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. Said tube 62 is provided withbeing alined with a horizontal slot 64a in fitting -5l, the latter slotbeing shown in Figs. G and '10.

A rod 65 is rockahiy mounted in the tube 62 and has a close fit therein.The outer end of this red terminates even with the end of the tube. butthe inner end of the rod projects into the housing 59 and abuts againstthe forward face of the hardened steel bushing 51. The inner cndof therod 65 is held in position in the housing I! by a plate 66 (Fig. 8)having a hole into which the end of said rod 65 is fitted, said rodbeing secured in any suitable manner to the plate 66. This rod isprovided with a longitudinally extending groove 61 in its peripherywhich, before and during operation of the device'to project a length ofwire, is alined with the interior of the hardened steel bushing 51, andbout of alinement with the slots and 66a in the tube 62 and fitting '66respectively. 'ance the axis of the rod is offset from the axis of thehole through the bushing rotation of the rod, which is effected at theend of the wire feeding operation of the device, will cause the wire tobe sheared oil at the face of the bushing II, the slot 61in the rod 65being'rotat'ed into line with the slot 64 in the tube 62 to enable thesheared off length of wire to move'out sideways from the slot 61 in therod and an actuetmg arm 12 is secured in the groove by a screw 13, theended the arm extending outwardly through slot '64 in the housingorfltting 'fl. tension spring 6! acts to normally hold the edge of arm12 against the lower end or the slot 6| with the groovel'l in the rod 66hraline- 'ment with the hole-through the hardened steel bushing 51 inwhich position the open side of the groove" is closed by the wall-of thetube 62.

The arm 12 is moved upward at the termination of each-operational thedevice to rotate the rod about its axis to shear of! the length of "wireresting in groove 1 from the length of wire drawn from the wire spooland passed into the hardened steel bushing 11., and to bring groove 61intoalinement with the slot '64 in tube 62, by operating means mountedon the exterior of the frame 26 and tube-l2 and which will now bedescribed.

Referr ng to Figs. land 2 crank 52 is provided with an inwardlyproiecting pin 15 mounted in e h le-drilled throu h the crank, so thatthe aid of the pinis closely adjacent the side well 22 of the rame 26.

A cranked lever 16 is pivoted on a screw 11 is mounted. It is to benoted that the holes or is screwed into a threaded hol d l through thewall of the case and into an inwardly projecting boss on the inside ofthe frame. The free end 160. of lever I6 is adapted to engage againstthe underside of the portion of arm 12. projecting through slot 6| ofhousing 59. Lever I6 is swun upwardly by the engagement of pin I5against the lower side of the lever, pin being positioned so that it maypass beyond the outer angle of the cranked lever when the latter hasmoved arm I2 to its uppermost position. When not resting on pin 15, thedownward movement of the lever is arrested by a stop I8 projecting fromthe face of the frame and provided by the end of a screw screwed intothe side wall 22 of frame 20. I

Rotation of the crank 52 is effected in a clockwise direction andreverse rotation of the crank is prevented by means later described.

The tension spring 68 is secured at its lower end by the head of amachine screw 80 screwed into the side wall 22 and the upper end of saidspring is engaged in a hole 80a drilled in the end of the arm I2projecting from the housing 59, the spring normally holds arm 12 inlowered position and lever I6, which engages under the projecting end ofarm 12, is held in position so that the pin I5 on the crank will strikethe lever adjacent its angled portion as the crank nears the end of itsrotation in each operative movement.

In order to prevent inadvertent reverse rotation of the crank 52 eitherwhen about to shear the wire or after termination of an operation andthus to prevent the wire from being drawn back through the drilledbushing 51 and forward guide nipple 55, a detent 89 is providedpivotally mounted on a pin 8I secured in side wall 22 of the frame. Thedetent is provided on its lower edge with a sloped shoulder having aholding face 82, and the end of the detent acts as a second holding face83. The detent is held by a pin 83a projecting from the frame inposition to be engaged by a pin 84 projecting inwardly from the crank52.

Holding face 82, as shown in Fig. 12D engages behind pin 84, which hasridden over the sloped shoulder leading to face 82, at the time of, orimmediately before, severing of the wire is effected, while end face 83engages behind pin 84 when the crank has completed a revolution.

In order to hold a flower against the end of the tube 62 and rod 65,an'axially slidable rod 85 is mounted in guides 86, 81 brazed orotherwise secured to tube 62, and a guide 89 attached to side wall 22 ofthe frame. A head 89- is mounted on the forward end of the rod 85 by aset screw 99, and a pair of fingers 9| are secured in the head 89 in anysuitable manner. The fingers 9I are bent as shown in Fig. 3 so as tofirmly grip the calyx 9Ia of a flower 9Ib when the fingers are drawntoward the end of the tube and rod which function is performed by a coilspring 92 mounted on the rod 85 with its forward end bearing against athreaded sleeve 93 screwed into guide 86 and an abutment collar 94secured to the rod by a set screw 95. Spring 92 is under compression andtherefore normally holds collar 94 against guide 81.

Rod 85 is moved forwardly by a small detent block 96 secured to therearward end of the rod 85 by set screws 9-1. The rearward end of theblock is vertically slotted and a combined thumb piece and detent 98(Fig. 11) is pivoted in the slot on a pin 99 extending across the slot.The thumb piece 98 is provided with an upward extension IIIII forengagement by the operator's thumb, and with a downwardly andrearwardly' extending pawl part I (II. The piece is freely swingable onsaid pin 99 within a limited range of movement determined by theengagement of the rear face I02 of the piece with the end of the slotand is pivoted off center on pin 99 so that it is normally held bygravity with pawl part III] in position to be engaged by a pin I03projecting inwardly from the crank 52, but when the upward extension I00is rotated slightly forward by the thumb of the operator, pawl part MIismoved out of the path of pin I03.

The operator pushes on the upward extension I69 to push the rod forwardto move fingers- 9| outwardly to position a flower and also to en-- ablecrank 52 to be swung clockwise to operate the device, while at thetermination of an operative revolution by the crank, the pin I93 willagain move rod 85 forward to release the flower.

The operation of the device is as follows, and the position of the crankand parts mounted on the outer face of the frame and operated by thecrank and cooperating therewith are shown in. the successive diagrams ofFig. 12 and indicated-1 A through E.

In the starting position with all parts at rest,'.. the spring 92 isholding pawl piece IIJI against:

pin I03 projecting from the crank 52, and is there-- fore holding pin 84projecting from the crank: against stop face 89. Crank 52 is thereforeresiliently held against clockwise rotation by spring: 92 and ispositively held against any counterclockwise movement. This position isshown in I2A. At this time shearing arm 12 is still raised. since pin I5projecting from the crank arm is. engaged under the lowest point ofcranked lever I6, and blossom holding fingers 9| are drawn close towardthe outer end of tube 65.

In the first operating movement, the operator takes hold of the handlewith his right hand and with his thumb pushes thumb piece I09 of thedetent block forwardly until stopped by guide 88. lihe movement of therod 85 on which the detent block is mounted moves the blossom holdingfingers 9I away from the end of tube 62 and the operator insertsa'flower, for example, the partly open rose 91b, with its calyx amlocated between the fingers and the end of the tube. This position ofthe parts is shown in Fig. 123. l

The operator next relaxes pressure against spring 92 with thumb piece I60 still elevated,

causing detent block 99 to move from position shown in I2B to IZC asindicated by the directional arrow in the latter view,-whereupon spring92 will hold the calyx against the end of the tube 62 and pawl piece I9Iwill be permitted to fall by gravity to be in positionfto engage withpin I03 when the crank has been turned nearly a full circle.

,The next stage of theoperation i shown in Fig. 12D wherein the crankhas been turned slightly further,. releasing pin 15 from lever I6, theend 16a of which is pulled downwardly by spring 68, thus bringingchannel 61 and hole in hardened steel bushing 51 again into registry.The slight movement forward of the crank necessary to release arm I6 doenot cause any advancement of the wire, since wheel 30 is permitted tonon-grippingly roll over Wire 21 due to slight pressure against itcaused by the regulated pressure by spring 39, at the time.

The position of the detent block 96 and of the I5 again engages with thecranked lever and imam raise: it toward'its upper position until itengages under shearing arm 12 at which time pin it on crank 52 passesover the shoulder on detent M and will engage face 82 if rotatedcounterclockwise. The face 82 is merely provided to insure that theoperator cannot accidentally rotate the crank slightly further and thenallow it to reverse, such a movement would cause the shearing arm toshear through the wire while the reverse movement of the crank, howeversmall, would pull the slightly mutilated wire at the face of the cutinto the hardened steel insort in which it would jam and prevent thenext forward feeding movement of the wire to take place.

The completion of the operative cycle is shown in Pig. 12E in which itwill be noted that the crank arm pin I03 has engaged the detent blockpawl IM and pushed the block and rod 85 longitudinally to release theblossom or flower. During the first portion of this movement theshearing arm has been moved upwardly a slight distanoe which causesshearing of the wire and registration of the groove 61 in rod 66 withthe alined slots in tube 62 and tubular extension 590: of housing 59, sothat the flower or blossom may be removed with a length of wire whichhas been thrust through the calyx of the blossom and extends to aboutthe same distance on each side. This process may be and is usuallyrepeated on the flower which is turned through an angle of ninetydegrees to furnish it with a second wire, the wires then being bentdownward and twisted together to furnish a strong wire stem in thelooped portion of which the flower or blossom is securely held.

If for any reason a short length of wire is required, as for instance towire the stems of several flowers together, the operator merely stopsthe action of the feeding roller 30 by raising frame 31 after sufficientwire has been drawn from the supply spool, but the crank arm is kept onturning to cut of! the length of wire chosen andlet it drop from themachine.

While I have particularly described a preferred embodiment of myinvention as now reduced to practice, nevertheless it is to beunderstood that changes and modification of the described embodiment maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for forcing lengths of wire through objects such asflowers, comprising: a frame, an object holding member carried by saidframe, means connected with said object holding member to move saidmember with respect to said frame, a wire supply spool carried by saidframe, a pair of wire feeding rollers mounted in the frame to draw wirefrom the supply spool and force it forwardly, a fixed pivot carried bysaid frame on which one of said feed rollers is mounted, a pivotallymounted support mounted on said frame on which the other feed roller ismounted, resilient means effective to urge said pivotally mounted feedroller support and the feed roller mounted thereon toward the other feedroller of the pair, a member carried bysaid frame and positioned toguide the wire from the feeding rollers outwardly of the frame, anelongated member extending outwardly from said frame and having almgitudinal channel therein open at each end and adapted to receive wirefrom said member which guides the wire out of the frame and then supportsaid wire while it 75 is forced by said feeding rollers through itsouter end into and through one of the aforesaid objects that is held bysaid object holding member, and said object holding member moving meansoperable to move said holding member toward one end of said longitudinalchannel, means effective to sever the wire between the frame and saidlongitudinally extending member after a predetermined length of wire hasbeen drawn from said supply spool, and operative means carried by saidframe effective to positively rotate said feed rollers and toautomatically operate said wire severing means.

2. A machine for forcing lengths of wire through objects such asflowers, comprising: a frame, an object holding member carried by saidframe, a wire supply spool carried by said frame, a pair of wire feedingrollers mounted in the frame to draw wire from said supply spool andforce it forwardly, a hardened member having a hole drilled therethroughclosely fitting the wire and effective to guide the wire from thefeeding rollers outwardly of the frame, a wire support mounted on saidframe, a longitudinally extending member mounted for rotation relativelyto said wire support, and having a longitudinal groove therein open ateach end and adapted to receive wire from the member guiding the wireout of the frame, said groove being covered by the wire support whilethe wire is being forced through its forward end into the object by thefeed rollers, and supporting the wire, means effective to sever the wirebetween the frame and the longitudinally extending member after apredetermined length of wire has been drawn from the supply spool, andoperating means effective to rotate said feed rollers and toautomatically operate the means effective to sever the wire, and torotate said longitudinally extending member to free the groove thereinfrom coverage by the wire support immediately after the wire has beensevered.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 and in which said wire supportmounted on said frame comprises a tube having a longitudinally extendingslot therein and said longitudinally extending member comprises a rodmounted for oscillatory motion about its axis in said tube with thelongitudinally extending groove therein normally held out ofregistration with said slot.

4; A machine for forcing lengths of wire through objects such asflowers, comprising: a

frame, a wire supply spool carried by said frame.

a pair of wire feed rollers mounted in the frame to draw wire from saidsupply spool and force it forwardly, a member carried by said frame andpositioned to guide the wire from the feeding rollers outwardly of theframe, an elongated member extending outwardly from said frame andhaving alongitudinal channel therein open at each end and adapted toreceive wire from said member which guides the wire out of the frame andthen support said wire while it is forced by said feeding rollersthrough its outer end into and through one of the aforesaid objects,means effective to sever the wire between the frame and saidlongitudinally extending member after a predetermined length of wire hasbeen drawn from said supply spool, an object holding member carriedmovably by said frame and effective to hold an object through which wireis to be forced while such object is pressed against the outer end ofsaid longitudinally extending member, and operating means eflectlve topositively rotate said feed rollers one revolution in each operativecycle of the machine, and to automatically operate said means effectiveto sever the wire, and to move the object holding member to release theobject after operation of the means severing the wire has been effected.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 4 and in which said operating meansinclude: a crank rotatably mounted on the frame, and detent meanseffective to prevent reverse rotation of said rotatable crank.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 4 and in which said operating meanscomprises: a crank rotatably mounted on the frame, detent meanseffective to prevent reverse rotation of said rotatable crank, an armeffective to operate the means severing the wire, a lever to actuatesaid arm, and pins projecting from said crank and engaging the armeffective to operate the wire severing means, and the object holdingmeans to move the latter to release position at the end of eachoperative revolution of said crank.

7. A machine for forcing wire through the base portion of flowerscomprising: a frame having one side closed, a wire supply spoolrotatably mounted upon said frame, a pair of wire feed rollers mountedon said frame, a hardened member drilled with a hole for the passage andguidance of wire fed by the feed rollers, a tubular support mounted uponsaid frame to project longitudinally therefrom, a rod mounted withinsaid tubular support, said rod being rockable about its axis and havinga longitudinal groove open at each end and normally axially alined withthe hole in said hardened member to receive wire projected through saidhardened member by the feed rollers for passage through the groove inthe rod, said wire being enclosed between the walls of the groove andthe inner surface of said tubular support for projection beyond theouter end of the tubular support and rod into and through the flower, anarm secured to said rod effective when operated to rotate said rodpartially about its longitudinal axis to sever the wire passing from thehardened member into the groove in said rod, a shaft rotatably mountedon the closed side of the frame, co-operating gears mounted on saidshaft and on said feed rollers, a crank mounted on said shaft externallyof said frame whereby said shaft may be rotated to drive said feedrollers, a pin projecting from said crank, a lever pivotally mounted atone end on the aforesaid closed side of the frame and having its freeend positioned to operate said arm secured to said grooved rod, a parton said lever being arranged to be engaged by the pin projecting fromthe crank toward the end of each operative revolution of the crank, anda spring operative to normally hold said arm and lever in inoperativeposition.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 7 and in addition comprising a rodmounted for longitudinal movement on said closed side of the frame andon the tubular support, flower holding fingers mounted at the end of therod beyond and adjacent the end of the rod mounted within the tubularsupport, a detent block mounted at the opposite end of thelongitudinally mounted rod, a pawl pivotally mounted in the detent blockand a pin projecting from the crank in position to engage the detent,and a spring effective to urge the flower holding fingers toward the endof the tubular support whereby the flower holding fingers may be movedoutwardly by the engagement of the pin projecting from the crank withthe pawl carried by the detent block, and the crank may be released forrotation by moving the pawl out of the path of the pin projecting fromthe crank.

9. The machine of claim 2 and; means operatively connected with saidobject holding member for moving said object holding member toward oneof said open ends of said longitudinal groove in order to position theobject therein with respect to said groove.

CHARLES M. ANDERSEN.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date Re. 9,294 Adt July 13, 1880 348,660 Collins Sept. '7, 18861,894,379 Link Jan. 17, 1933 2,281,756 Fisher May 5, 1942 2,343,190Kinkel Feb. 29,1944 2,467,565 Owens Apr. 19, 1949 2,467,572 WeisselbergApr. 19, 1949

